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The TIMES They Are A-Changin'

AUGUST 5, 2007
I like the size of the New York Times. It's so big it forces negotiation with the person reading the section they swiped from you. Now the realities of dwindling circulation have cut the grey lady down a tad. On Monday, the Times will reduce the width of its pages by an inch and a half, to a 12-inch standard. That 's too bad. On the bright side, if they DON'T lower their rates for illustration this can be thought of as a raise! I make my living primarily on print illustration. I have watched so many magazines fold in my career. That seems normal now and thankfully, more appear all the time. I recall several years ago the idea of a tablet book was huge. Many publishers had huge plans to create digital editions of their books. It never took off. Just a few weeks ago a huge ad in the TIMES appeared again; a digital tablet for reading books. As a new iPhone owner, I know that the resolution is sufficient now to allow for type on a tablet. So, I could either look at all this as a warning to ready my skills as a plasterer OR trust that images still have power and for a society raised to appreciate art (oy!), illustration will have a role. Color pixels look best when there are photos and art involved. For now, the morning negotiation for table real estate just got easier, by 2 inches.
Topical: Procrastinations  
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